Kindle Edition, 329 pages
Published
December 16th 2015
by Soul Mate Publishing
Cinderella's fairy tale
moves to Jupiter Island, Florida where Lily Foster, owner of an eclectic
landscape nursery, is mistaken for a wealthy socialite by billionaire
resort developer Rhett Buchanan. Overdue for a little romance in her
life, Lily is anxious for one fabulous date with her handsome prince, so
she cultivates her inadvertent masquerade.
Rhett Buchanan has become jaded with the Palm Beach social scene, dominated by scheming women desperate for more money -- his money. Rhett falls hard when he meets Lily Foster. She is a breath of fresh air after the smog of gold diggers constantly surrounding him.
For Rhett and Lily, it's love at first sight until her deception comes to light and pitches their relationship into a disastrous tailspin. Well-meaning friends are determined to intercede and resort to inept high jinks to reunite the estranged couple while a wicked ex-girlfriend plays dirty to keep the couple apart.
Rhett Buchanan has become jaded with the Palm Beach social scene, dominated by scheming women desperate for more money -- his money. Rhett falls hard when he meets Lily Foster. She is a breath of fresh air after the smog of gold diggers constantly surrounding him.
For Rhett and Lily, it's love at first sight until her deception comes to light and pitches their relationship into a disastrous tailspin. Well-meaning friends are determined to intercede and resort to inept high jinks to reunite the estranged couple while a wicked ex-girlfriend plays dirty to keep the couple apart.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
My Review: 2.5 Stars
I love a good fairy tale re-telling and one set in modern times is always fun. In Cinderella Busted, we obviously get the story of Cinderella, in the form a Lily, a landscape nursery owner, and billionaire, Rhett. A mistaken identity at their initial meeting leads to a whirlwind romance, but when the truth comes out, it's hatred and disaster.
WHAT I DIDN'T ENJOY:
Maybe all fairy tales are truly this way if you stop and think about it, but I found this couple to be superficial, as it seems to be all about lust, not love. Two weeks together isn't long enough (in my opinion) to cause Rhett and Lily to go to the extremes they did to show such hatred, jealousy, and depression over the truth. I found them both to be very hypocritical, judgmental, and selfish. I wanted to love this story, but had a hard time seeing their actions and relationship as believable. I know others will disagree with me, but for me, as a clean book reviewer, the content is disappointing (see below).
WHAT I REALLY LIKED:
That said, I did enjoy the journey of twists and turns that led to the conclusion and found myself wondering how in the world things could possibly ever work out. This is definitely a fast-paced story. I found some of the friends very endearing and loved watching their plans and intentions unfold. The evil ex-girlfriend is purely evil and I wondered how that angle would resolve. I also loved the little hidden gems of wisdom, such as not jumping to conclusions before reacting, appearances may be deceiving, and learning to appreciate what is truly important.
Content: moderate+ amounts of profanity (no "f" word, but about everything else and a lot of them); moderate-heavy romantic elements (kissing--very descriptive tongue kissing, heavy innuendo, a lot of talk about sleeping around/being a virgin, one scene of almost nudity, but all sex is fade to black or not described, so technically clean); mild violence.
*I received a copy in exchange for an honest review*
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Interview:
1. If you could be any character in any fairy tale, who would you be and why?
First, let me thank you for allowing me to spend time with Katie's Collection readers today. As
for the question of which fairy tale character I would pick, I think I would love to be the fairy
godmother in Cinderella. Heck, I do feel a bit like her already since I managed to write Lily
Foster right into Rhett Buchanan's arms in Cinderella Busted, even without the prop of the glass
slippers.
Or, I would want to be Flora, Fauna, or Merryweather in Sleeping Beauty—more fairy
godmothers who give true love a swift kick to help it along. Can you tell I used to work for The
Walt Disney Company? *grin*
2. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
Yikes, that is a hard one. I have a particular fondness for Jackson Hole, Wyoming, but this lived-
there-all-her-life-till-recently Florida girl isn't sure she could handle Wyoming winters long-
term. Same with the Scottish Highlands romanticized by the many wonderful historical romances
I love to read. I'm still getting accustomed to Cumberland Plateau winters.
3. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a zookeeper when I grew up and never varied that goal right up to college where I
majored in Zoology. But the Walt Disney World Resort had come to my hometown by then and
provided fabulous work opportunities. My degree made a job as an aquatic biologist possible, so
I stayed put with Disney after graduation.
4. Do any of the characters in your book represent real life people? If so, who?
Not really—other than naming some characters for friends or family. Making characters just like
real life people is a sensitive road to tread and could get an author into legal trouble if not very
careful. My characters are usually an amalgamation of people I have met or known—created by
picking tidbits of personality from a number of people to round out a character.
Although, everything that happened to my heroine in Everglades during her safari through the
River of Grass happened to me at some time during my career: the bug storm, swimming with
gators, the leeches, the heart-stopping airboat maneuvers. Everything, that is, except getting
stranded overnight with a hunky airboat guide. I never got one of those, so I wrote my own—an
especially sexy one, if I do say so myself. *wink* I hope you check him out and fall in love
with him — just like I did.
5. What made you decide to write?
No single event or revelation made me decide to write; writing pretty much decided to make me.
I had never considered writing stories as a child or teen or even as a college student, but I have
always had little mini-movies that ran in my head, usually when I was tasked with some
incredibly boring project like vacuuming or mowing grass. Up until that very first full-length
feature popped in my head about ten years ago, I had never entertained the slightest notion of
writing. That first full-length movie just refused to leave me alone until I put it all down on
paper. I still see the bits and pieces of stories or mini-movies in my head, but when the entire
feature movie appears—with a beginning, a conflict, and a resolution—then that is the next novel
I write.
6. If your book was made into a movie, who would you cast as the leads?
Sometimes I see movie actors or actresses for my hero or heroine, like Skye Landers in
Everglades was the hunky Medjai warrior from the movie, The Mummy. Most of the time, the
characters materialize in my own imagination and are not similar to anyone else—again, an
amalgamation of features of other people, combined until I get just what I want.
In Cinderella, the larger-than-life billionaire Rhett Buchanan could be played by Christian Bale
or Chris Pratt, if I had my choice, and Lily Foster could be Blake Lively or Emma Watson,
though I had my own petite blonde version of Lily Foster created in my imagination.
If you take time and meticulous care with the characterization of your hero and heroine, they will
seem real even to you, the author. You may even wonder what they are up to after the story has
ended. :)
7. If your life was made into a movie, who would you want to play you?
I'm not sure my life was exciting enough for a full-length feature, and Lisa Kudrow would
probably play the lead for all the crazy scrapes and scenarios in which I always seem to get
caught.
First, let me thank you for allowing me to spend time with Katie's Collection readers today. As
for the question of which fairy tale character I would pick, I think I would love to be the fairy
godmother in Cinderella. Heck, I do feel a bit like her already since I managed to write Lily
Foster right into Rhett Buchanan's arms in Cinderella Busted, even without the prop of the glass
slippers.
Or, I would want to be Flora, Fauna, or Merryweather in Sleeping Beauty—more fairy
godmothers who give true love a swift kick to help it along. Can you tell I used to work for The
Walt Disney Company? *grin*
2. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
Yikes, that is a hard one. I have a particular fondness for Jackson Hole, Wyoming, but this lived-
there-all-her-life-till-recently Florida girl isn't sure she could handle Wyoming winters long-
term. Same with the Scottish Highlands romanticized by the many wonderful historical romances
I love to read. I'm still getting accustomed to Cumberland Plateau winters.
3. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a zookeeper when I grew up and never varied that goal right up to college where I
majored in Zoology. But the Walt Disney World Resort had come to my hometown by then and
provided fabulous work opportunities. My degree made a job as an aquatic biologist possible, so
I stayed put with Disney after graduation.
4. Do any of the characters in your book represent real life people? If so, who?
Not really—other than naming some characters for friends or family. Making characters just like
real life people is a sensitive road to tread and could get an author into legal trouble if not very
careful. My characters are usually an amalgamation of people I have met or known—created by
picking tidbits of personality from a number of people to round out a character.
Although, everything that happened to my heroine in Everglades during her safari through the
River of Grass happened to me at some time during my career: the bug storm, swimming with
gators, the leeches, the heart-stopping airboat maneuvers. Everything, that is, except getting
stranded overnight with a hunky airboat guide. I never got one of those, so I wrote my own—an
especially sexy one, if I do say so myself. *wink* I hope you check him out and fall in love
with him — just like I did.
5. What made you decide to write?
No single event or revelation made me decide to write; writing pretty much decided to make me.
I had never considered writing stories as a child or teen or even as a college student, but I have
always had little mini-movies that ran in my head, usually when I was tasked with some
incredibly boring project like vacuuming or mowing grass. Up until that very first full-length
feature popped in my head about ten years ago, I had never entertained the slightest notion of
writing. That first full-length movie just refused to leave me alone until I put it all down on
paper. I still see the bits and pieces of stories or mini-movies in my head, but when the entire
feature movie appears—with a beginning, a conflict, and a resolution—then that is the next novel
I write.
6. If your book was made into a movie, who would you cast as the leads?
Sometimes I see movie actors or actresses for my hero or heroine, like Skye Landers in
Everglades was the hunky Medjai warrior from the movie, The Mummy. Most of the time, the
characters materialize in my own imagination and are not similar to anyone else—again, an
amalgamation of features of other people, combined until I get just what I want.
In Cinderella, the larger-than-life billionaire Rhett Buchanan could be played by Christian Bale
or Chris Pratt, if I had my choice, and Lily Foster could be Blake Lively or Emma Watson,
though I had my own petite blonde version of Lily Foster created in my imagination.
If you take time and meticulous care with the characterization of your hero and heroine, they will
seem real even to you, the author. You may even wonder what they are up to after the story has
ended. :)
7. If your life was made into a movie, who would you want to play you?
I'm not sure my life was exciting enough for a full-length feature, and Lisa Kudrow would
probably play the lead for all the crazy scrapes and scenarios in which I always seem to get
caught.
Buy Link:
About the Author:
Petie spent a large
part of her career working as a biologist at Walt Disney World -- "The Most
Magical Place on Earth" -- where she enjoyed working in the land of fairy tales
by day and creating her own romantic fairy tales by night. She eventually said
good-bye to her "day" job to write her stories
full-time.
Petie shares her home
on the beautiful Cumberland Plateau with her horticulturist husband, a
spoiled-rotten English Springer spaniel addicted to pimento-stuffed green
olives, and a noisy Nanday conure named Sassy who made a cameo appearance in Angel to the Rescue.
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Thank you for taking valuable time to read and review my story and for allowing me to spend time with your readers today.
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